Change of Body, Same Heart
by kzlovers
Summary: Clank takes on a challenge in hopes of helping a friend only to find himself changed physically. However, this change will answer many of his questions and help achieve many of his deep buried desires that he never thought he would have a chance at obtaining.
1. Chapter 1

A fanfic for airlombax on deviantart. I hope you enjoy!

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time fanfic

Genre: romance, humor

Warnings: Male slash, the rating is T

Pairing: Ratchet/Clank

Summary: Clank takes on a challenge in hopes of helping a friend only to find himself changed physically. However, this change will answer many of his questions and help achieve many of his deep buried desires that he never thought he would have a chance at obtaining.

Hope you all enjoy!

Change of Body, Same Heart

Part 1: Change of Body

"This place is incredible!"

Emerald eyes glanced all around in wonder. Outside showed the vast space and stars of the universe while the inside contained various mechanisms imbedded in golden walls and blue amounts of energy. Ratchet could not help but feel excitement as Sigmund lead the tour of the Great Clock. Clank was also there but he followed behind his best friend.

Though taking another trip around the large establishment would benefit him in hopes of memorizing the layout soon that was not the only reason he followed. The eyes of his best friend gleamed with enthusiasm as the journey from one end to the other of the Clock. Clank could not help but relish in these feelings that presented itself so strongly from Ratchet. A smile graced his lips.

Ratchet was something else entirely; always there and always his best friend, despite their occasional disagreements. After being made in that robot factory, Clank managed to meet Ratchet soon after. The whole memory of him being built and brought to life was kind of a blur to the tiny robot. He could not experience happiness at his existence long before he knew what Chairman Drake had been planning. Somewhere in his programing, which now knowing it was never supposed to be there since he was supposed to work for Drake, he knew that the man had to be stopped. The reason he knew of Quark was due to a quick glance he stole from a poster right before leaving the factory in haste.

He could never be happier of his current situation, well, for the most part. There were deeper hidden desires that he knew had to be kept at bay. Odd, for a robot to feel such strange emotions for an organic. Sure, he had been best friends with this organic basically since the day he was built, but anything more was just foolish for him to wish of, and he knew this. So, he always ignored the rise of his makeshift heartbeat and as close to heat rising in his cheeks as he could get.

This was something of great aggravation to the white robot. Though many mechanical beings show many signs of having true emotions, there are still many debates to this day on whether robots truly have real emotions or not since everything involved with a robot includes building and programing. None of it is natural so this has been a long last debate between those who have doubts and robots themselves.

Shaking his head slightly, he wanted to rid himself of the negative emotions he was now experiencing. Looking up briefly at his best friend, the momentarily down mood was now gone instantly.

"And this is our laboratory!" Sigmund exclaimed with much enthusiasm and pride.

"You have a lab here?" Ratchet asked. The thought seemed strange. Why would they need a lab here?

As if reading his mind, Clank answered, "The lab is used more as a workshop for making repairs to certain mechanisms and machines used here. Of course, it is not needed as much now that I have the staff but it is useful for the times I am away."

"Is it used for anything else?"

Sigmund nodded, "Back when Orvus was here, he used the lab frequently. He loved to expand his mind and learn more of the environment around him as well as create stuff. It was a great pass time for him."

"He actually got free time?" Ratchet asked with a humorous grin on his face. There was so much that needed to be done around this place; the thought of having free time seemed odd to the Lombax.

"Well, when you are the keeper of time, then time is at your disposal."

"Ah." A nod was given in agreement. That made sense.

"So, if you will follow me…" Sigmund continued as he drifted ahead to wherever he saw fit to lead them.

Clank was about to follow as well but something caught his eye. The door to the lab was opened a hair's length. Usually, Ratchet was allowed to go in most rooms. However, due to cautionary procedures, Sigmund and he both saw it fit to not let Ratchet enter this room. Ratchet had been told from the beginning not to question why he couldn't go in certain rooms, and surprisingly, he didn't.

Slowly, a white hand opened the door as Clank carefully entered. When seeing nothing, he entered fully to have a better look around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were three long tables accompanied with wooden chairs. Various test tubes littered the tables but other than that, there were no other messes.

Scratching was heard coming from the back of the lab. It was light and barely audible, but regardless, still heard. Tiny, quiet steps were taken back to his destination. The lab had two parts to it. The first was where Clank currently was with the tables. The second was through a doorway into a much darker part of the lab, both physically and verbally. That was the part that Ratchet was not allowed to see. There were many harmful chemicals present that could do harm to an organic, or worse.

This was a place that Sigmund and he never wanted to go to. This was where Orvus preformed some of his more 'questionable' experiments as Sigmund put it. Clank never chose to argue or explore it. Now he wondered if he should be here at all. If what was here could hurt organics, who knows what was there that could do harm to robots…

The scratching was heard again and Clank still chose to approach he remained as slow and cautious as before. Finally approaching the noise head on, he saw a small robot creature in the form of a dog clawing at of the refrigerators along the back wall.

Taking another step, one of the ears on the dog twitched and he stopped his clawing before looking back to see Clank. At first, Clank thought he may have to fight the creature. However, being close up and now seeing the face, he knew there was no need.

His name was Harvard. Sigmund told Clank about him. Harvard was built to be a loyal companion since Sigmund, for the most part, was here alone. The other robot did not mind the work he did, but did grow very lonely at times. When this beagle was up and functional, Sigmund was very happy about it, and indeed, Harvard did exactly what Sigmund needed; provided a good friend.

However, Clank had not seen much of Harvard since his arrival and Ratchet had not even been able to meet him. It was a shame really. Maybe now they could have time to… well, whatever it is a dog and person do together.

"What are you doing here Harvard? Are you lost?" Clank asked kindly, though he did not expect what happened next.

"No, I am not lost," It answered which made a look of pure shock flash of Clank's face. "Though I am having trouble. May you be so kind as to assist me in opening this door for me?"

Clank just stood there as if he was lost, only in his mind. A slight tilt of the head was performed by the dog in confusion. "Are you alright?"

"You can… talk?"

"Indeed. Why does this surprise you?"

Clank responded, "Well, as far as I knew, Sigmund did not program you with speaking abilities. I thought you were created to just be a robot dog."

A nod of understanding was done. "Ah, I see. I was built for just that purpose. However, if you open this door for me, I can show why I am different."

Seeing no harm in the matter, Clank did just that and opened the door. In it were a few jars of a purple liquid that almost looked like purple soda that Ratchet was so fond of.

"What is this?" The white robot asked.

"This is what changed me," Harvard explained, "I was searching around one day and came across this liquid. It had been on one of the tables out there. I am unsure of why. Anyway, I hoped onto the counter and sniffed. It smelled sweet and of course, I was a dog so something smelling sweet seemed harmless to me."

"Okay. What else?"

"While thinking, I thought of my master and all he does around here. Though I was built to be just a dog, I knew my master was intelligent and thought of how I wished to be so. Shortly after, I began to realize I could think more intellectually with everything in my environment. I even began to speak. I was quite amazed at this change."

Clank thought about it. It could happened, he supposed. A liquid made to increase certain circuits in the brain to give him the ability to obtain more knowledge and store it.

"Is this why I have not seen you as much along with Sigmund?"

Harvard nodded, "Yes. I was afraid my master would be angry with me so I chose to avoid him at all possible moments unless there were no other options."

"Sigmund would not be angry. In fact, he might even be happy with the surprise."

"If my master would be happy with having knowledge then why would he make me to be mindless?"

This was a question Clank did not have an answer for. Sigmund was more than capable of giving Harvard knowledge if he wanted him to. "I do not have the answer to that, but I know he would not be upset for you having knowledge. Please believe me on that."

"… Alright."

Looking back to the fridge, Clank looked deeply at the liquid. He wondered what it had been made for and what all of its qualities truly were.

"Why were you trying to get this refrigerator open? If the liquid has already done its purpose for you, then why search for more?"

"I wanted to take some to my master to show him. I had hoped he may drink some so he may achieve something he may want as well."

Looking back at Harvard, Clank suddenly grew weary from his response but knew he had to choose his words wisely since he did not understand the whole situation.

"I am not sure if that is a good idea. Yes, the liquid gave you something you longed for but we do not know all the properties of this and what the after effects might be."

"I feel nothing though. I have been like this for weeks and have had no problems." Harvard argued.

"That is good but it is still no wise for him to just simply drink this just because it worked for you and you have had no problems. It might just be made for the purpose of heightening one's intelligence. We cannot be sure and should not take any risks."

Harvard then smirked slightly which made Clank uneasy. "You are scared. I assure you that nothing bad will happen to you unless you wish it."

"You do not know that for sure."

"I do because I have lived through it," Harvard remarked, "If you are so scared of Sigmund drinking it, then maybe you should test it for him."

"That is ridiculous. Why would I do that?" Clank glared.

"Because I am going to take this to my master no matter what. He will believe me since I am now speaking."

Clank knew this was true. If Sigmund saw his dog talk and heard him say that anything will come true if you drink it, then he would most likely fall for it. At least if the white robot tried it and perhaps proved Harvard wrong if the drink did nothing to him. It had to be worth it to keep Sigmund safe.

"Alright. What do I do?" Clank knew that he had to do more than just 'drink it' if it was supposed to grant wishes as the dog puts it.

"While drinking the liquid, you think of something you want, whether it be a new way of thinking, or talking, or maybe even a different body form. What you want to change or advance about yourself."

"How much should I drink?"

"A few mouthfuls should do," Harvard answered, "Now try it."

Grabbing one of the jars, Clank knew this was a bad idea. He only hoped it would do nothing and get Harvard to not convince Sigmund to drink it. Taking a few deep breaths, Clank opened the jar in his hand before readying it by his lips.

It was an odd thought on the subject of robots when eating of drinking. Robots can drink oil but that is about it. They cannot consume any food. Oil consumption does help with the working of some parts of a robots body, depending on the bot of course.

Braving himself, Clank finally tilted his head back and felt the sweet liquid run into his mouth and down his throat. It felt very strange, however, like no oil he had ever tasted before had felt. There were no words that could describe it.

He knew he was supposed to think of something he wanted but he tried his hardest not to. However, as he drank more, his thoughts started to swarm. Clank wondered if this was how Ratchet felt when he drank.

Ratchet… his thoughts went to his friend. His emerald like eyes and bright white smile seemed most prominent in his mind. He had feelings for his friend for a few years now but never wanted to admit that to him in fears of losing his friendship since he knew already that he would be rejected.

Thinking of the Lombax, he wondered what it was like to feel things like he did. Robots had temperature sensors installed but he knew to actual touch something as an organic would be much more advanced than how he felt hot or cold. How would actual emotions be like?

The feeling of gagging started to occur and Clank stopped drinking to pull himself back together. Funny, he never gagged on a drink before.

That feeling did not last long before nausea overtook him. Grabbing his head, pain throbbed through him quickly as well as his body. Too much to handle, Clank suddenly passed out by the drink he somehow forgot he had dropped.

"Clank?... CLANK!"

Harvard panicked at the sight. He knew this was his fault and he had to do something. There was only one answer in his mind. Legs lead him as quickly as he could to the only one he thought could help, his master.

Luck struck him as he found Sigmund along with an organic not far from the laboratory. He skidded to a stop in front of Sigmund.

"Oh! Hey Harvard!" Sigmund grinned, "Ratchet, I would like you to…"

"Not now! We can be introduced later!" Harvard yelled to snap his attention. When Sigmund was on a certain track of mind, it was hard to get him off of it.

Sigmund stood there shocked that his dog just spoke. "I will explain later but I need your help. Clank is in trouble."

Ratchet's eyes widened when he heard this. "What? What happened to Clank?!"

"I will explain later. Please! You must follow me to the laboratory at once!"

No more questions were exchanged as the trio raced to the lab that they had been not but ten minutes ago. Once in, all ran to the back where Clank was at.

However, Clank was not there anymore. What they saw on the floor was a jar with a spilled purple substance.

Ratchet's eyes widened once more when he saw the organic lying there. It was not just any organic, for it was a Lombax with a yellowish fur much like Ratchet's but darker; almost like a brown, along with white stripes along his ears and arms much like Ratchet's own light brown stripes. This Lombax was mostly lying on the floor but tried unsuccessfully to raise himself up with is arms.

After a few attempts, however, the Lombax managed to sit up right instead of lying in the spilled liquid. Looking up, a look of confusion flashed over his features when he noticed the look of surprise on Ratchet's face.

"What is wrong?" The stranger asked.

Though the voice was not robotic, it still had the same undertones that Ratchet immediately recognized. "C-Clank?"

*Hello. This is a fanfic request for airlombax on deviantart. I hope you like it so far! Thank you all who have read it and I hope you are excited for the next part.


	2. Chapter 2

A fanfic for airlombax on deviantart. I hope you enjoy!

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time fanfic

Genre: romance, humor

Warnings: Male slash, the rating is T

Pairing: Ratchet/Clank

Summary: Clank takes on a challenge in hopes of helping a friend only to find himself changed physically. However, this change will answer many of his questions and help achieve many of his deep buried desires that he never thought he would have a chance at obtaining.

Hope you all enjoy!

Change of Body, Same Heart

Part 2: Same Heart

Shortly after waking up, Clank had passed out again. The whole situation was a huge mess of confusion but Sigmund luckily had some answers and was more than happy to explain. During Clank's rest, Sigmund explained that the pink liquid that Clank drank, along with his robot dog, was a special formula that Orvus had made at one point. It was actually something that helped him create Clank very existence by creating some of Orvus's own qualities and inserting them in Clank's being along with the help of a special built machine. The whole process sounded extremely confusing to Ratchet but he chose not to ask in case the answers only caused more confusion.

As for the current effects, unless the liquid is used in a controlled environment, such as having the machine that helped create Clank, then the outcomes could not be fully controlled. The effects are based on wants and desires that the consumer has. For Sigmund's dog Harvard, he wanted intelligence instead of dog extinct, so that is what the liquid gave him. Sigmund assumes that Clank had a secret desire to be an organic.

The whole situation was odd but nothing could be done about it. One more factor explained was that the elixir worked only once per consumer. Harvard could not drink it again to return to his previous self for example. The elixir affected Clank twice but the first time was under Orvus's use so he used his one-time usage instead of Clank. Therefore, Clank was stuck in his Lombax form unless they found a cure to the liquid, which as far as Sigmund knew, there was no antidote.

It did not take long after the explanation for Clank to awaken from his slumber. When awake, he looked very confused as he examined his now fur covered arms. Luckily, Ratchet had some extra clothes with him that him and Sigmund helped put on while he slept. That explanation caused Clank to blush deeply from embarrassment. It was quite a funny and cute site.

After explaining what happened, Clank thanked Sigmund for the information as well as apologized. Though accepted, the Sigmund did feel extremely guilty over the whole matter because he never told Clank about the lab or its contents.

It was then that a loud rumble was heard coming from the brown Lombax's stomach. Ratchet could not help but laugh. In hopes of being helpful, Sigmund left to go prepare dinner for the two Lombaxes. It was right around supper time.

When gone, Clank turned towards Ratchet, "I am sorry Ratchet."

Confusion formed on the yellow Lombax's face. "Why?"

"For making such a foolish mistake. I wanted to help Sigmund but in the end, it was not necessary."

"It's okay," Ratchet replied, "The only thing I worry about is how you are doing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're not a robot anymore. Now you're organic. That's a big chance in the span of an hour. Are you going to be alright?"

Clank took a few moments before speaking to let his mind wonder. At the time, he had wondered what it was like to be an organic, but to be honest, if it were not for his feelings for his best friend, then he would never had thought of being an organic at all. Ratchet was the only reason he would ever want to be this way, and the chances of those feelings being returned were slim. However, not much could be done about it now.

"I will be alright. There is not much that can be done about it now so I may as well make the best of it." Clank stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

A chuckled escaped Ratchet. He could not help but laugh. Despite not having his robotic voice anymore, he was still the same with how he spoke. It was quite amusing really.

Emerald eyes suddenly met peridot ones. The whole situation seemed odd to Ratchet that Clank would want to be an organic. And was the Lombax form an accident, or was there more to it? He could not help as he stared into his best friend's eyes unintentionally.

Clank noticed the stare as he was also staring right back. They were currently in one of the guest bedrooms in the Great Clock and Clank currently was sitting up in the bed with his legs under the blankets while Ratchet sat in a chair nearby. So, there was distance between them but not much. because of this, the stare seemed to make the new Lombax uneasy.

"What is it Ratchet?"

He suddenly blinked as he realized he was staring. Looking away, a deep red covered his cheeks.

"Sorry about that Clank. I was thinking and didn't even realize what I was doing."

"It is quite alright." Clank replied but offered nothing more.

He wanted to ask what was on his mind, but decided against since he had an idea on what it might be; why did Clank want to be an organic. That was a question that he was not ready to answer.

Instead, he removed the covers. Ratchet watched as Clank let his feet dangle over the carpeted floor before setting them down slowly. After this, he stood up completely.

First, Clank let his new fingers slide over the wooden surface on dresser just right by the bed before moving to touch the peach painted wall. The same sets of actions were done to the window glass and curtains, door and knob, and finally the bed sheets.

Confusion was thickly painted on Ratchet's face by his friend's actions. "Clank, what are you doing?"

Tensing slightly, Clank looked up from the bed and towards his friend, as if forgetting for a moment that he was present in the room.

"I apologize Ratchet. I was curious how surfaces would feel to my new fingers. The sensations are quite different from my robot sensors."

Emerald eyes widened from the answer. He suddenly wondered if Clank wanted to be organic because of how things would be; differences.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yes. I enjoy the natural feeling of how different textures and temperatures feel. It was much different when I was a robot but… I just like how the feeling is real instead of programed."

Ratchet could not help but stare at Clank. He did not mean to, but he never realized his friend thought of organics and robots on those terms. Sure, there are discussions about whether robots have true feelings since everything they know is programed into them, but he never thought about the subject much. Clank to him was just… Clank; his partner in crime and justice, his ally, his best friend.

"Do you think of the discussions about robots having feelings or not a lot?" Ratchet asked curiously.

Silence rang through them before an answer was finally given. "I do not think of it often but I have from time to time."

"You know," Ratchet suddenly smiled, "I never realized you thought about that subject. I never did think about it."

Clank looked somewhat surprised. Despite being a Lombax now, he still had a way of hiding his emotions as he did back when he was a robot. "Why not?"

"Because no newspaper article or discoveries were going to change my thoughts on the subject."

"…And what are your thoughts on the subject?" Clank asked in a somewhat nervous tone.

It was not missed by Ratchet but he did not say anything of it. "I believe that robots have just as many feelings, emotions, and organic type characteristics as organics themselves. Think about it. Organics are made from other organics and robots are made from organics and other robots. Whether you are born or built is still being created. It's just under different circumstances. If it's believed that robots can't have true emotions then how can organics be considered that way? We're both created by the same creators, so there should be no difference, despite difference in situation."

A grin came over his face at the shocked expression that Clank was giving him.

"That is… something I never considered." Clank responded lamely.

A genuine laugh left Ratchet. He then stood up and walked over to his friend. Before Clank could say anything more, he was pulled into a hug.

"How's this action between robot and organic?"

"Nice…" Clank answered as his eye slide closed in Ratchet's shoulder. "It is very nice both ways."

"Then stop worrying so much," Ratchet stepped back which made Clank unfortunately force his eyes open. Ratchet then gently grabbed both shoulders. "You will always be the Clank I care about; no matter what form you're in."

Clank truly smiled the first time since he changed. It was not often that Clank genuinely smiled from happiness so Ratchet was always happy to see it, but it was also just as pleasing to see now that he was an organic.

Something seemed different though, and knowing that difference took over the yellow Lombax's senses right then. He was unsure of what he was doing but did not really care as he stepped closer to the brown Lombax with white stripes.

Emerald eyes were half lidded and peridot eyes began to follow the same pattern due to the closeness. Ratchet and Clank were the same height, so what happened next made it easy. Ratchet leaned in until his lips lightly brushed Clank's soft ones.

The brown Lombax made sure to not make any sudden movements so Ratchet would not just back away. He wanted to let his friend explore this and see what he thought.

Lifting his arms up, Ratchet set one hand on the side of Clank's neck while the other rested on one of his cheeks. Both had red cheeks as Ratchet held Clank in place and deepened the kiss.

A few minutes of just lips brushing and slightly pushing against one another for depth, the yellow Lombax finally pulled away from the kiss he initiated. A smile then graced his lips.

"Was this one of the reasons you wanted to be an organic?" Ratchet panted faintly.

"Yes," Clank breathed in reply, "But I am conf…"

"I told you I would care about you no matter what form you were in." Ratchet cut in, smile still present on his face. "Now come on. Let's go see what Sigmund is making us for supper."

Clank smiled in return. Happiness filled them both. He was for sure that Ratchet would never have returned his feelings, and perhaps, he had felt the same way.

A nod was given as he followed his best friend out afterwards. Excitement filled him as he a waited what come for him and his new lover.

The End

*Hello! This is the second and last part for this fanfic. This was a request for airlombax on deviantart. I hope you liked it! I also hope others enjoyed reading it as well!


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